Education

Ph.D.

doctorate
,
biology

bachelor's degree
,
biology and French

"The animals' welfare is only a factor for SeaWorld in as much as they are maximizing their profit," says Naomi Rose, a marine biologist for the Animal Welfare Institute, a nongovernmental organization dedicated to better treatment of animals.

Naomi Rose, an orca biologist with the Animal Welfare Institute who served as an adviser to the film, said that although other states have implemented bans on orca shows, California would be the first state that actually has such entertainment to do so.

"I've been waiting for 20 years for someone like Mr. Bloom to come along and do something about this," said Rose, who believes that the shows, which feature orcas jumping through hoops of fire and performing other tricks, are inhumane.

HSUS's marine mammal scientist Dr. Naomi Rose, author David Kirby of "Death at SeaWorld," and three former SeaWorld trainers visit Puget Sound and observe resident orcas, to compare their lives with those of captive orcas.

Naomi Rose, the Humane Society's marine mammal biologist, said there's a growing body of research suggesting that whales, dolphins and porpoises have the cognitive sophistication of 3-to-4-year-old human children.

As for the orcas at SeaWorld, she said, "They don't seem to adapt to captivity.